Page 231 - Volume 1_Go home mzungu Go Home_merged with links

“Go home, m’zungu Go Home !”

Some Key Findings

Prelude to m'zungu Colonisation
("Veni, Vidi’)

· The period 15th-17th centuries saw a period of European overseas exploration facilitated
by technological advances (magnetic compass; ship design)
· This facilitated transfer of good between hemispheres

· New trans-oceanic routes helped to put European powers in control of most of the planet

· 16th century English merchant adventurers started trading in West Africa

· 17th century saw settlements established by a number of European nations (e.g.
Netherlands, France, Sweden, Denmark)

· The m̩'zuŋɡu demand for slaves for the New World fundamentally changed the nature of
African slavery, with wide ranging long-term impacts on African societies
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The 19th Century m'zungu Scramble for Africa

(“Veni, Vidi, Vici")

· Economic growth in Europe led to increased demands for raw materials. The price of
commodities rose and peaked at about the time of the Berlin conference.

· c mid-19th century c 2/3 of French imperial trade was with Africa.

· The French are said to have triggered a chain reaction among competing European powers
by surveying the possibilities of a railway connection between major trading hubs in West
Africa.
· The price of commodities rose and peaked at about the time of the Berlin conference. 13
European nations plus the USA took part in the Berlin conference. The General Act of the
Berlin Conference formalised the scramble for Africa.
· A wide range of technological advances meant that the costs of colonising had become
significantly lower. These advances included:

Transportation (Steamships, Railways)
Communications (Telegraphy)
Weaponry (Maxim gun)

Health care (quinine significantly reduced the risk of malaria)
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